Time is GMT + 8 hours Posted: 11-Oct-2008 04:39 hrs
Shaquille O'Neal , seen here in April 2008, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson will play under the stars Saturday when Phoenix and Denver meet in the National Basketball Association's first outdoor game since 1972.
Shaquille O'Neal, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson will play under the stars Saturday when Phoenix and Denver meet in the National Basketball Association's first outdoor game since 1972.
.
The pre-season exhibition will be played at the 16,000-seat Tennis Garden stadium where the area's annual ATP and WTA tournaments are staged each March.
.
The desert setting will be the site of the first outdoor NBA matchup since Phoenix defeated Milwaukee 116-103 in a baseball stadium at San Juan, Puerto Rico, with NBA legends Oscar Robertson, Connie Hawkins and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taking part.
.
Warm, windy and clear conditions are predicted for the game, which will be far from the cooler climates of typical NBA arenas.
.
"It's not like playing in a vented air conditioned building," Phoenix star O'Neal said.
.
"Shaq" is set to open his 17th season in search of a fifth NBA crown, having helped the Los Angeles Lakers to three titles and Miami to another.
.
"I've been playing outdoors all summer," O'Neal said. "The only difference is we're going to be playing on a real floor."
.
The Women's NBA staged an outdoor exhibition at the US Open facility in New York in July and drew nearly 20,000 spectators in what served as a logistical tuneup for the event operations crew ahead of the NBA outdoor test. — AFP
